Show: Nathan Cassidy: Observational Venue The Three Sisters (Maggie’s Front Room) Time: 5.15pm Dates: 4th – 28th August Show: Nathan Cassidy: Hot Tub God Venue City Cafe (Las Vegas Room) Time: 12.30pm Dates: 4th – 28th August (not 8th,15th,22nd) Photographer: Andy Hollingworth Links: Nathan’s Profile and Social Media
Hi Nathan! Tell me about your 2022 Edinburgh Festival Fringe show, Observational.
Hi, Observational is the show I brought to the 2020 Edinburgh Fringe for one performance only as the only live performer at the Fringe that year. It’s a magical true story of meeting a personal trainer and him changing my life forever. I was thrilled when this was nominated for best show at the Leicester Comedy Festival and the critical and audience reaction has been phenomenal. I’ve recently performed this all around the UK and in Dublin and Berlin and the plans are to take it to Australia and elsewhere next year. Observational is the show that made me think about hour shows in slightly different way. Through chance I stumbled across something that was funny but was also really uplifting. That’s what we need in the world right now – hope, to be uplifted. I try to recreate that now in all my shows – I want them to be ultimately uplifting, that’s the bar.
While you’re here, tell me about your 2022 Edinburgh Festival Fringe show, Hot Tub God.
Talking about uplifting…. I thought I have to talk about the state of the world this year – war, petrol prices and lying leaders, but how was I going to make this uplifting? Well… I had a best man’s speech to do, always hard, but this one was for my best friend’s third wedding! Again, how could I get something uplifting from this speech and make it in any way truthful? And half the audience in that don’t forget knows what the truth is – they’ve been to the previous two weddings! And so, just before the speech, I go on holiday to a hut in the middle of nowhere, and outside this hut there was a hot tub. And this is the truth – there was a miracle in that hot tub. The answers to absolutely everything, all my troubles and all the world’s troubles – they all became clear with a miracle in the hot tub. Genuinely, no lie. This show is 100% true. Can you handle the truth?
Two shows a day for twenty-five days in a row with no day off? Are you insane?
Yeah… it was going to be three. But then Amazon Prime released my show Bumblebee so I thought I’d plug that instead. I think it’s usual for people to do a few shows a day, maybe not solo shows, but it’s still pretty common for people to do multiple stuff every day. I just want all the cash to myself, have you seen how much salmon has gone up? It’s all going to be fine, unless I get ill and lose my voice, which has happened in EVERY SINGLE OTHER FRINGE. I just need to avoid doing what I did in 2017, which is slip off a stage and do my back in, weeks of incredible pain and diazepam – again for many that’s a very normal Fringe.
You’re not adverse to a stunt or two while in Edinburgh. Do you have anything up your sleeve?
Well, it’s funny, I never plan to do any stunts, I genuinely want it all to be about the shows, I’m all about the standup. I just get bored and things come to me. Nothing has come to me yet, so probably not this year. It’s a good way to stand out though, true story there are going to be 72 million comedians in Edinburgh this year. God how I miss last year, I think there were only 400 shows, I sold the whole run out in advance. I’m not saying I want another Pandemic but… now that would be a stunt right?!
Finally, ask and answer a question of your own.
So…how do I get your Amazon Prime special Bumblebee?
That’s such a great question…you get it on Amazon Prime. A friend called me yesterday and said ‘Why is your Amazon special more expensive than Spiderman?’ Sorry about that if it is, they just ask you ‘do you want the default pricing’ and I said ‘yes’. Anyway, it’s worth it, a few quid to rent, things can be too cheap these days right, that’s what everyone is saying – things are too cheap. If we don’t pay top dollar for things like petrol it becomes devalued. Anyway, if it is too expensive my daily podcast Daily Notes is free – ok you didn’t ask me about that, or actually this, anyway thank you very much, see you in Edinburgh, I’ll be the one in the Hot Tub on the Royal Mile – bye!!
Tickets: Nathan Cassidy: Observational
